Students from across County Galway took part in this year’s Galway County Council Anti-Litter Poster Competition, which is an annual environmental initiative to raise awareness and enable children to have an active role in the fight against litter pollution.
A total of 1,524 entries were submitted by primary and secondary school students and following an exhaustive judging process, 55 winners were presented with their Awards by the Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Cllr. David Collins, at a special awards ceremony.
Students were asked to design an anti-litter poster to address one of the main littering problems experienced in County Galway, and the winners of each of these individual categories were:
The Overall Winner for Primary Schools was Zosia Wojda?a from 5th Class in Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona Uachtar Ard, for her catchy and educational poster highlighting that almost 40% of littering is caused by passing motorists.The Overall Winner for Secondary Schools went to Liliana Staniak from 2ndyear in Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar whose poster targeted beaches with the catchy slogan of “Keep our Beach Toasty, Not Trashy”.
In the special categories, Molly Finn of Kiltartan NS won the Stop Littering our Towns and Villages award, Patrick Canavan of Claddaghduff NS won the Roadside Litter category, Kateryna Rudenko of Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona won the Beach Litter category, Wiktoria Ozga of Coláiste Mhuire won the Cigarette-Related Litter category, Maeve Walsh of High Cross College won the Dog Fouling category and Rosaleen Dinneen of Coláiste Ghobnait in Inis Oírr won the “Bin your gum when you’re done” category.
Cllr David Collins, Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, said the standard of entries in this year’s competition was “exceptionally high” and praised students for using creativity to deliver strong environmental messages. “The imagination and effort shown by students across the county has been truly outstanding,” he said. “These posters send a very important message about protecting our environment and taking pride in our towns, villages and countryside.”
Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, commented, “It is encouraging to see so many young people engaging positively with issues like litter prevention, recycling and caring for our natural surroundings. Competitions like this help build awareness from a young age and remind all of us of the role we play in keeping Galway clean and sustainable for future generations. There is a strong sense of civic pride in keeping our county clean. It starts with the everyday habits we develop around litter, and it is important that we carry this awareness with us throughout our lives.”
Eileen Ruane, Director of Services with responsibility for Human Resources, Environment and City & County Libraries, said, “The creativity and effort shown by students this year has been exceptional and reflects a growing awareness among young people of the importance of protecting our environment. I also want to acknowledge the dedication of teachers and school communities who continue to support initiatives like this, and to thank the staff of our Environment Section for their hard work in organising and delivering the competition each year”.
The full list of age group prize winners is as follows:
NATIONAL SCHOOL
Junior Infants: Hollie Connell Clydagh N.S. (1st ), Hannah Hynes Belclare N.S. (2nd ), Éile Ní Áinle Scoil Éinne An Spidéal (3rd ), Ciarán Green Collinamuck N.S. (highly commended ).
Senior Infants: Florence Collins Orr Scoil Éinne An Spidéal (1st ), Finn Moloney Kiltartan N.S. (2nd ), Louise Anna Ward Trinity Primary School Tuam (3rd ), Emma Ryan St Annins N.S. Rosscahill (highly commended ).
1st Class: Kuba O’Shaughnessy Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona Uachtar Ard (1st ), Alice O’Brien Belclare N.S. (2nd ), Síofra Stevenson Scoil Naomh Bríde Tullach Uí Chadhain (3rd ), Ellie Pañka St Marys N.S. Mountbellew (highly commended ).
2nd Class: Ben Connell Clydagh N.S. (1st ), Róisín Heverin Cahergal N.S. (2nd ), Sara Kwiecinska -Men St Bernard’s N.S. (3rd ), Timothy Noble Headford Primary School (highly commended ).
3rd Class: Grace Egan St Gabriel’s N.S. in Kilconnell (1st ), Katie McGrath Cahergal N.S. (2nd ), Aoibh O’Hare St Brendan’s N.S. Portumna (3rd ), Dónall Donnelly St Patrick’s N.S. Ballaghlea (highly commended ).
4th Class: Kateryna Rudenko Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona Uachtar Ard (1st ), James Mannion Ballyglass N.S. (2nd ), Hannah Sullivan Carnaun N.S. (3rd ), Isabelle Gill Esker N.S. (highly commended ).
5th Class: Vladyslav Aleksieiev SN Tír na Cille Maam (1st ), Patrick Canavan Claddaghduff N.S. (2nd ), Marie Hynes Maree N.S. (3rd ), Éile Rós Scoil Sailearna Indreabhán (highly commended ).
6th Class: Keelin O’Connor Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona Uachtar Ard (1st ), Sarah Mac Aodha Scoil Éinne (2nd ), Katie Mulkerrins Peterswell N.S. (3rd ), Nataliia Vysotska Glinsk N.S. (highly commended ).
SECONDARY SCHOOL
1st Year: Maeve Walsh High Cross College Tuam (1st ), Grace Broderick St Raphaels College Loughrea (2nd ) Mia Dolan Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar (3rd ), Ashley Maher St Raphaels College (highly commended ).
2nd Year: Ana Fior Moura Elias Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar (1st ), Zoe Verdon Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar (2nd ), Aishling Gacquin Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar (3rd ), Sophie Cramer Coláiste Mhuire Ballygar (highly commended ).
3rd Year: Mia Ward High Cross College Tuam (1st ) Kevin Jakas High Cross College (2nd ), Zelipa Phiri High Cross College (3rd ).
4th Year/TY: Rosaleen Dinneen Coláiste Ghobnait (1st ), Sophie Corrigan High Cross College (2nd ), Saoirse Ní Chúláin Coláiste Chroí Mhuire Ballygar (3rd ), Ríona Ní Aodha Coláiste Chroí Mhuire (highly commended ).
This article is funded by Comisiún na Meán.
